This keeps happening. Ever since Very Famous People decided to spend isolation singing John Lennon's 'Imagine' into an iPhone for a little sprinkle of seasonal wealth divide joy, Justin Theroux has seemingly hunkered down in New York with his goooooooooood girl Kuma for company. So far, so government mandated. Theroux is staying alert. Theroux is wearing a mask. Theroux gets a steely nod from the tin-pot Covid marshall.
But, in another sign that celebrities are not just like you and I (who knew!), the 49-year-old has made the daily dog walk an unintentional step-and-repeat. Where most go for trackies and coats that look like abandoned tents at Glastonbury, Theroux is, once again, Cool, Single Brooklyn Art Dad. Coronavirus just hits different when you've been in a David Lynch film. You spend most of your time looking like a father of Maud and Clara; one who spends much of the day on school runs to places that charge thousands to "nurture your child's inner Monet", giving the playground mums ample opportunity to swoon over Cool, Single Brooklyn Art Dad as he drives off into the sunset to sort a block of Thai stick and a Burial re-press. You don't even need kids either.
Just yesterday, Theroux kept up appearances – again on a New York dog walk – in the gear that's become his signature: bomber jacket, gilet, scuffed jeans and teeny tiny beanie. It's not exactly red carpet stuff. But, in times of grey marled chronic casualness, it has both personal style, and a semblance of effort. That's refreshing. And yes, while socially distanced awards ceremonies have sort of returned to the West Coast (which was about as exciting as a family Zoom quiz organised by your favourite and distant 'live laugh love' cousin), LA sleb style has been a bland caesar-less salad of workout gear, baseball caps and Ben Affleck taking deep, deep breaths.
Which is relatable. None of us are having a nice time, nor do we feel particularly nice about ourselves. Nice clothes, then, stay in the dry cleaning plastic. But a little Hollywood aspiration is welcome; necessary, even. Famous people in great clothes are much more likeable than famous people in naff cover versions of an ex-Beatle's classic. Good clothes don't make such bad mistakes – and Theroux's daily dog walk proved that good clothes can still happen on bad days.
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